Application
This unit describes the skills required to plan for and manage police search and rescue (SAR) requirements, including communication with stakeholders, analysis of resources and evaluation of activities.
This unit applies to police staff involved in police search and rescue operations.
The skills and knowledge described in this unit must be applied within the legislative, regulatory and policy environment in which they are carried out. Organisational policies and procedures must be consulted and adhered to, particularly those related to human resource management and reporting requirements.
Those undertaking this role may work autonomously and supervising teams while remaining responsible for reporting to senior staff. They would demonstrate adaptability across a broad range of contexts while performing complex tasks.
No licensing, legislative or certification requirements apply to unit at the time of publication.
Elements and Performance Criteria
ELEMENTS | PERFORMANCE CRITERIA |
Elements describe the essential outcomes | Performance criteria describe the performance needed to demonstrate achievement of the element. Where bold italicised text is used, further information is detailed in the range of conditions section. |
1. Plan SAR operations | 1.1 Review information relating to search and rescue incident to plan operation. 1.2 Assess required resources to complete SAR operations based on available information. 1.3 Evaluate plan to determine feasibility and likelihood of success. |
2. Manage SAR teams | 2.1 Communicate nature of SAR incident to stakeholders. 2.2 Brief SAR teams on roles, responsibilities and activities. 2.3 Allocate tasks to team members to facilitate SAR operations. 2.4 Monitor performance of teams to adjust plan as required and identify any welfare considerations. 2.5 Relay feedback received from team to stakeholders to inform SAR operations. |
3. Liaise with internal and external authorities and agencies/organisations | 3.1 Provide briefings to agencies/organisations to ensure consistency of information. 3.2 Monitor resources to determine changing circumstances. 3.3 Negotiate with agencies/organisations to acquire resources for SAR operations. 3.4 Provide guidance and support to authorities and agencies/organisations to improve SAR effectiveness. |
4. Manage search and rescue reporting requirements | 4.1 Collate information from internal and external sources to maintain comprehensive records. 4.2 Evaluate information to determine relevance. 4.3 Identify trends from analysis of available information. 4.4 Develop recommendations for continuous improvement purposes. |
Evidence of Performance
Evidence required to demonstrate competence must satisfy all of the requirements of the elements and performance criteria. If not otherwise specified the candidate must demonstrate evidence of performance of the following on at least one occasion.
evaluating SAR incidents to determine responses
communicating, liaising and negotiating with stakeholders
allocating and monitoring resources
gathering and evaluating information to identify trends
developing and communicating recommendations for continuous improvement purposes
Evidence of Knowledge
Evidence required to demonstrate competence must satisfy all of the requirements of the elements and performance criteria. If not otherwise specified the depth of knowledge demonstrated must be appropriate to the job context of the candidate.
management techniques
WHS requirements
equipment and resources relevant to search and rescue operations
jurisdictional SAR system
roles and responsibilities of agencies involved in SAR
capabilities of external agencies
jurisdictional quality management systems
jurisdictional policies and procedures relating to reporting requirements and media engagement management techniques
risk management techniques and processes
Assessment Conditions
This unit contains no specific industry-mandated assessment conditions. Guidance on suggested and recommended conditions and methods can be found in the Implementation Guide.
Consideration must be given to practical assessment for this unit. Refer to advice in the companion volumes.
Assessors must satisfy the NVR/AQTF mandatory competency requirements for assessors.
Foundation Skills
The foundation skills demands of this unit have been mapped for alignment with the Australian Core Skills Framework (ACSF). The following tables outline the performance levels indicated for successful attainment of the unit.
Further information on ACSF and the foundation skills underpinning this unit can be found in the Foundation Skills Guide on the GSA website.
Competency Field
Search and rescue